Making the Cut
By Deidre Braley
Bible Reading
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. – 1 Peter 2:9
At 6:00 PM we all poured out of our respective cars, running across the parking lot to meet at the agreed-upon door. There was a hint of smoke in the air, and the sweet decay of maples and oaks had already begun. I remember the way the cold air clung to my wet clothes—still damp from tryouts—as I ran too, with my eyes fixed on that door, that white piece of paper, that list that would determine whether I’d been chosen, whether I’d stood out, whether I would get to be part of something that meant something.
Girls who had gotten there first began to high-five and congratulate each other. There was cheering and jostling, and I tried to weave through them, knowing that if I could just get close enough, I’d see my name in bold letters, and I, too, would join my teammates in the celebration. People began to walk away, sweaty and relieved and laughing. I stayed in front of the door. The names were alphabetical—I knew I should see mine with the ‘Ds’—but it wasn’t there.
I hadn’t made the cut.
Is there anything more painful than not being chosen? Than wanting to belong—and being told no? Even now, as a fully grown adult, I can still remember every time I was left standing against the fence when the captains picked the teams, every time I stood outside a circle of girls whispering together at recess and every time I longed for someone to see something special in me, but they didn’t.
These moments tend to become a part of us, to become strands in the fabric of our worldviews. When we experience rejection in our lives now, perhaps it hurts all the more because it brings us back to the day on the school bus when the popular kids talked about a party over the weekend—one we’d known nothing about. We remember thinking we’d see our name on that list after varsity soccer tryouts and standing alone, trying-hoping-wishing those bold letters would materialize and prove we were worthy. We feel the painfully sharp spear of all the times that—in somebody’s eyes—we were not enough.
But there is evidence throughout the Bible that, despite all the rejections we may have experienced in our lives, we are chosen by God. I want to point out that this isn’t a half-hearted consolation prize (like when your sweet, well-meaning mom says, Well, I think you’re special). No, it’s a call to step onto the most important team doing the most important work with the most
important Leader in the world: bringing glory to God, reveling in his love, and pouring light into every dark corner we find here.
1 Peter says, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (2:9). Now, it can be difficult to accept words like chosen, royal, holy, or special as descriptors for ourselves when we’ve felt anything-but in our experiences with other people, but God isn’t a person, and as he reminds us in Isaiah, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (55:9).
And God’s way is to give willing, humble, and obedient people responsibility in His Kingdom—not to mention delightful intimacy with him. When we throw up our hands and say, “Pick me!” or, “Put me in, Coach!” his qualifier is not whether we are wearing popular clothes or can handle a ball well or even (heaven forbid) we were born on the right side of town.
It’s the posture of our hearts.
1 Peter reminds us that the living Stone—that is, Jesus—was also rejected by humans. But he was chosen and special in God’s eyes, and his impact on this world has been the greatest we’ve ever seen. We are also called living stones here—ones that are being put together to build a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, set apart and chosen by God (1 Peter 2:4-5).
Intersecting Faith & Life:
If you are experiencing that painful feeling of not being chosen today—you’ve been passed over for a promotion, you interacted with someone who treated you poorly, or you feel exhausted from waiting for God to use you in what feels like a ‘big’ way—remember that you’ve already been enlisted. Look around. Ask God what work he has for you today as part of his holy priesthood, and thank him for choosing you to be part of the most important team in history.
Further Reading:
1 Peter 2
Exodus 19: 1-6
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/marchmeena29
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